When Mr. Godin spoke, he gave the impression that bilingualism was not at all possible in the Supreme Court. In reality, the Supreme Court is quite able to function in both official languages. All the necessary resources are in place, and it has the ability to do so. There are now more bilingual judges than ever. There are seven bilingual judges and only one unilingual. The Supreme Court is therefore entirely capable of functioning in both official languages and thus of respecting bilingualism.
As I said the first time I spoke, it must be kept in mind that the principles of merit and excellence are paramount. In addition, language is indeed an important criterion. Our Minister of Justice is working with the provinces on the bilingualism file. The Commissioner acknowledged that fact.
Mr. Godin painted a dark picture, but it's not that dark, since we now have seven bilingual judges out of eight. We're looking for a ninth.